Chapter 304: Xing Hui, My Disciple
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
After Lu Zheng Yue escorted his little sister back to the General’s Mansion, he hastily returned to the medical clinic. He couldn’t afford to relax; the desperation in people’s eyes was more terrifying than the plague that gripped the city.
Chao Chao lay on her small bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. Outside, the pyres burned brightly, their orange glow casting an eerie light on the night sky.
But no matter how many bodies they burned, it was never enough.
“Chao Chao, don’t be scared. Sister is right here with you,” Wen Ning whispered, her voice soft and calming. She gently washed Chao Chao’s little face, patted her tummy, and hummed a soothing lullaby.
Exhausted from the day’s events, Chao Chao could barely keep her eyes open. Before long, she drifted off to sleep.
The night was still and silent, the kind of silence that felt heavy and filled with unspoken dread.
Suddenly, Chao Chao’s eyes snapped open. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she sensed a dark aura creeping around, tangled with strange, godly energies that made her skin prickle.
Chao Chao glanced at Wen Ning, who was sound asleep. Carefully, she sent a small wave of spiritual energy around her, forming a protective barrier.
Then, without making a sound, the little girl slid down from her bed, moving on her hands and feet like a tiny animal.
She pushed the door open just a crack and slipped out. Dressed in nothing but her nightgown, she tiptoed into the night.
The Desolate City was eerie in the dark, the air heavy and filled with tension.
Chao Chao was small, and with the spiritual energy shielding her, she moved unnoticed by anyone still awake. She followed the unsettling aura ahead of her, determined to find its source.
And sure enough, she spotted a shadowy figure.
“Return the soul… return the soul…” The figure chanted. He had sharp eyebrows and striking eyes, handsome by all means, but his gaze was empty, like he wasn’t fully there.
Every three steps, he bowed low to the ground, murmuring, “Return the soul,” his voice hollow. Each time, the black mist around him grew denser, and the godly light that surrounded him dimmed.
He had been searching for so long, his mind had shattered.
He was on the brink of falling into eternal darkness.
“You found the person, didn’t you? Why aren’t you going home?” Chao Chao asked, following close behind, her voice steady despite her small size.
“Did you make the sickness happen? They have the gods’ smell on them. Did they make the gods angry?” she continued confidently, each word laced with the curiosity of a child, but the wisdom of someone much older.
Step by step, she followed him, watching as he bowed every three steps, showing his sincerity to the heavens.
She trailed him all the way to the entrance of the underground palace.
Chao Chao’s eye twitched in surprise.
Suddenly, a fierce wind kicked up, sending sand flying everywhere. She could barely see anything.
The wind was so strong that it pushed her back, making her struggle to keep her footing.
“What are you doing?” Chao Chao whispered, her small voice lost in the roaring wind.
The man’s feet slowly lifted off the ground. He floated mid-air, standing tall in the heart of the storm.
“Those who disturb her resting place shall die,” he declared, his voice dark and filled with rage.
“This is the world she saved with so much effort; she gave herself up, leaving nothing behind, to the mountains and rivers. Why do you treat her like this?” he demanded, his voice breaking through the wind. His eyes glowed a fierce red.
“Why disturb her soul?” he whispered, his words like a curse carried by the storm. “All deserve to die, all deserve to die… This awful world—is it worth her giving everything?”
“Heaven is unfair, heaven is unfair, heaven is unfair…” His voice grew more desperate with each word.
“I am willing to turn from god to demon… fall into endless… hell. Overthrow this unjust…”
Chao Chao stood frozen, her little face pale with shock.
“Ouch!” she suddenly cried out, clutching her chest. She felt a burning sensation and whimpered, pulling out the book from her pocket.
“So hot, so hot! Why is the book so hot!” she squeaked.
The book moved on its own, pages flipping rapidly until it landed on the one about the War God Xing Hui.
His name glowed fiercely, surrounded by swirling black mist.
Pictures emerged from the pages.
She saw a man in gleaming silver armor, holding a sharp sword, looking down from the heavens.
He had fled the godly realm, casting aside all his pride.
Every three steps, he would bow deeply to the ground, chanting, “Master, soul return…”
“Master, disciple has come to weave your soul.”
“Master, it’s time to go home.”
After Chao Chao had sacrificed herself, her soul had shattered into countless pieces, even she didn’t know how many.
But he had walked every step, every year, every century, piecing her soul back together bit by bit.
He had walked a day, a year, ten years, a hundred years…
He no longer knew how long it had been.
His soul became lost within the Three Realms. He forgot his own name, forgot his past, turning into a terrifying spirit feared by all.
All he remembered was his mission.
Weave the soul, weave the soul… return the soul…
Chao Chao suddenly looked up at the dark sky.
Her eyes were red, tears welling up but not falling.
“Xing Hui!” she shouted, her small voice cutting through the wind, halting the spirit’s whispers.
Chao Chao pointed at him, her breath coming in quick, sharp bursts.
The wind tossed her little pigtails wildly; her tangled hair covered her eyes. Xing Hui looked at her, his gaze piercing through the storm to meet hers.
Her lips trembled, and her voice wavered. “Xing Hui… come here.”
For a brief moment, the War God Xing Hui, who was nearly lost to darkness, found clarity.
She hadn’t even recognized her own disciple! [I’m so silly,] Chao Chao thought, feeling a pang of guilt.
In her memory, Xing Hui was a bright, cheerful boy who loved to laugh and help others.
He always dreamed of traveling with his sword, wiping out evil and bringing peace to the world.
But now… he was surrounded by a dark mist, lost in his search that spanned thousands of years.
Xing Hui hovered in the air, silently watching her.
“If you don’t come, I won’t play with you anymore!” Chao Chao puffed out her cheeks, pouting in a way only a small child could.
“If you don’t come, I’ll tell everyone your silly stories!” she threatened.
“Hmph! Big, important War God, you dug a hole in my special melon, ate it all with a spoon, and then you peed in it! Made me cut open the melon and get splashed with pee!” she huffed indignantly.
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
The spirit in the air shivered violently.
Slowly, he moved closer, standing right in front of her.
His gaze was still hazy, but his eyes softened when he looked at Chao Chao. His lips parted slightly, as if he was trying to remember how to speak.
“Don’t become a bad god!” she insisted, her voice trembling.
If a god fell to darkness and became a fallen deity, all the gods would come after him.
“Don’t be scared, I’m back. I won’t leave you again,” Chao Chao whispered, reaching out and touching his ghostly form.
His soul felt fragile, his divine energy unsteady, half of it already corrupted.
By then, the sky began to lighten, the first hints of dawn breaking through.
Chao Chao took out a small jade bottle from her hidden space and gently guided Xing Hui’s soul inside.
Once done, she turned back toward the city, her eyes narrowing with determination.
The city was waking up, and she could hear frantic shouts in the distance.
Outside the General’s Mansion, a crowd had gathered, their faces marked with red, angry spots, their eyes wide with fear and desperation.
“General Lu, you lied to us!” someone shouted.
“We’re all doomed; we can’t get out!!” another cried.
Lu Zheng Yue stood firm at the door, his expression stern. “His Majesty has sent the best doctors to the city; he won’t abandon any of you! Please, trust the court, trust His Majesty!”
“It’s all lies! You’re still trying to trick us?” a voice roared from the crowd.
“The doctors can’t help us; there is no cure! So many have died already; it’s out of control! You lied to us; His Majesty has already abandoned us! He ordered the city to be destroyed!!”
Despair clung to the air like a heavy fog, and hope seemed to slip away like sand through their fingers.
“If the plague gets out of control, then destroy the city.”
“We have to get out! We can’t just wait here to die! There are so many of us—can’t we break out of the city?”